Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a telecommunications technology often aimed at providing wireless data over long distances (e.g., kilometers) in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. A network based upon WiMAX is occasionally also called a Wireless Metropolitan Access Network (WirelessMAN or WMAN); although, it is understood that WMANs may include protocols other than WiMAX. WiMAX often includes a network that is substantially in compliance with the IEEE 802.16 standards, their derivatives, or predecessors (hereafter, “the 802.16 standard”). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks, Part 16, IEEE Std. 802.16-2004.
One particular derivative of the 802.16 standard is the, as yet finished, 802.16m standard that attempts to increase the data rate of wireless transmissions to 1 Gbps while maintaining backwards compatibility with older networks. IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Working Group, IEEE 802.16m System Requirements, Oct. 19, 2007.
The data rates of wireless networks often lag behind their wired counterparts. This is often due to data transmission and corruption issues that occur for various reasons, such as, for example, as the data passing through heterogeneous mediums (e.g., air, walls, etc.), station mobility, distance from transmitter/receiver, etc. In addition, wireless networks often include a large amount of overhead because of these issues. As a result, the quoted data rates (e.g., 1 Gbps) do not convey the actual rate at which useable information (non-overhead) is transmitted. These useable information rates may be as low as 50% of the actual data rate (that includes useable information plus overhead information).